Why MPs do not represent everyone equally well

Disproportionate numbers of politicians within national parliaments are male, affluent and belonging to the ‘native’ majority of their country. But while the composition of a parliament may not reflect the composition of society, does this affect the representation of citizens’ views? Drawing on new research in Germany, Lea Elsässer, Svenja Hense and Armin Schäfer demonstrate ... Continue

The not-so dualized society: chances of a cleavage formation from labor market dualization

Die Dissertation befasst sich mit der Frage, ob und welche Konsequenzen aus der Dualisierung des Arbeitsmarktes erwachsen. Am Beispiel Deutschlands untersucht sie, ob es ausreichende Unterschiede zwischen Insidern und Outsidern am Arbeitsmarkt gibt, um von der Entstehung eines neuen politischen Cleavages auszugehen. Basierend auf Umfragedaten von 1991 bis 2016 wird betrachtet, welche Faktoren Arbeitsmarktrisiken begünstigen und ob sich diese im Zeitverlauf gewandelt haben. Zudem analysisert die Arbeit die policy-Präferenzen von Insidern und Outsidern sowie ihr Wahlverhalten und beantwortet die Frage, inwiefern die Politik sich gegenüber beiden Gruppen responsiv zeigt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Unterschiede zwischen Insidern und Outsidern geringer ausfallen als zu erwarten wäre. Die Entstehung eines neuen Cleavages ist daher eher unwahrscheinlich, zumal Outsider seltener wählen gehen. Parteien haben also wenig Anreize, sich für ihre Belange einzusetzen und ihre Programmatik auf sie auszurichten.The thesis deals with the question if and which consequences arise from labor market dualization. Focusing on the case of Germany, it asks whether there are sufficient differences between labor market insiders and outsiders to expect the emergence of a new political cleavage in the nearer future. Using survey data collected between 1990 and 2016, it examines which individual factors are correlated with an increased labor market risk and how these correlations have changed over time. The thesis also analyzes the policy preferences of insiders and outsiders, which parties they voted for and answers the questions how responsive politics has been towards the two groups. The findings show that differences are smaller than expected. The emergence of a new cleavage thus appears rather unlikely. What is more, outsiders turn out in lower numbers than insiders, so parties have not much to gain when turning to them and trying to tailor their programmes towards outsiders’ needs

Unequal Responsiveness and Government Partisanship in Northwest Europe

This paper pools datasets on policy responsiveness to public opinion in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Following the empirical strategy set out by Gilens (2012), we show that the policy outputs correspond much better to the preferences of affluent citizens than to the preferences of low- and middle-income citizens in all four countries. We proceed to explore how government partisanship conditions unequal responsiveness. In so doing, we distinguish between economic/welfare issues and other issues and we also distinguish between the period before 1998 and the period since 1998. Our findings suggest that policy-making under Left-leaning governments was relatively more responsive to low- and middle-income citizens in the economic/welfare domain before 1998, but this was not true for other policy domains before 1998 and it is no longer true for the economic/welfare domain. We conclude with some general reflections on the implications of our empirical findings for the literature on mechanisms of unequal representation in liberal democracies

Elucidating Materials Paradigm of CIGS by Structure-Composition-Performance Correlations

Recent developments in focusing hard X-rays to nanoscale beams have enabled scanning X-ray microscopy modalities and their simultaneous exploitation in multi-modal measurement campaigns. Specifically, X-ray beam induced current and X-ray fluorescence measurements have been established for the correlation of the electrical performance with the distribution of absorber and trace elements for thin-film solar cells with absorbers from CIGS to CdTe and perovskites. For CIGS, the composition is in an especially complex interplay with the synthesis conditions and the crystallographic structure due to the tetragonal lattice distortions, steep vertical In/Ga gradients, and lateral inhomogeneities that introduce lattice strain and structural defects. For this contribution, we have added scanning X-ray nano-diffraction to the multi-modal envelope of scanning X-ray microscopy to assess crystallographic properties of a solar-cell series with a varying In/Ga ratio. For the first time, this combination has been used to characterize a statistically significant number of CIGS grains embedded in as-deposited solar cells: mapping out the real and reciprocal space, we have isolated nearly 500 individual grains. This enabled us to elucidate Materials Paradigm of CIGS, by (1) correlating the lateral Cd and In/Ga distribution with the local performance and lattice spacing with unprecedented sensitivity, (2) differentiating voids in the absorber layer that appear (not) to be filled with CdS, and (3) evaluating the crystallographic properties including the grain orientation and grain-boundary classification with sub-grain resolution and powerful statistics in fully assembled devices. In the full presentation, we will elaborate on our methodological advances and unveil performance-relevant findings from the CdS coverage to the strain distribution at small- and large-angle grain boundaries. Beyond applications to CIGS, our work highlights the latest developments in the field of X-ray imaging and paves the way for advanced correlative nanoscopy at diffraction-limited storage rings that will become operational within the next few years

Comparison of XBIC and LBIC measurements of a fully encapsulated c-Si solar cell

A fully encapsulated c-Si solar cell was evaluatedusing focused X-ray and laser beams to probe the microscopicelectrical performance and composition. Particular emphasiswas placed on the influence of the silver fingers on the laser(LBIC) and X-ray beam induced current (XBIC). Therefore,an uncommonly high X-ray energy of 28 keV was utilized formaximum sensitivity to the Ag distribution measured by X-rayfluorescence through the back sheet. The direct comparison ofLBIC and XBIC measurements yields a comprehensive pictureof these techniques, illustrating the advantages and challenges ofboth approaches. Specifically, the effect of heavy elements actingas a secondary photon source that increase the XBIC signal isdiscussed and supported by Monte-Carlo simulations